Saudi police detain teenage boy for dancing in the road

Police arrest 14-year-old filmed dancing to 90s hit song Macarena at a street crossing in the coastal city of Jeddah.

22 Aug 2017 22:36 GMT

It was not clear whether the boy would be formally charged [Screen grab - Ahmed Al Omran]

Saudi police said on Tuesday they had detained a 14-year-old boy who was filmed dancing to the 1990s hit song Macarena at a street crossing in the coastal city of Jeddah, in a clip that was widely shared on social media.

The teenager, whose name and nationality were not given, was being questioned because he had shown "improper public behaviour" and disrupted traffic, a statement from Mecca police said. It was not clear whether he would be formally charged.

In the 45-second video, a teenager wearing a striped t-shirt, grey sports shorts and brightly-coloured shoes strides to the middle of a crosswalk. He starts dancing to the catchy tune in front of five lanes of cars stopped at a traffic light.